Mediated Cell Cycle Arrest Research Articles

Puerariae radix isoflavones and their metabolites inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells

Puerariae radix (PR) is a popular natural herb and a traditional food in Asia, which has antithrombotic and anti-allergic properties and stimulates estrogenic activity. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the PR isoflavones puerarin, daidzein, and genistein on the growth of breast cancer cells. Our data revealed that after treatment with PR isoflavones, a dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth occurred in HS578T, MDA-MB-231, and MCF-7 cell lines. Results from cell cycle distribution and apoptosis assays revealed that PR isoflavones induced cell apoptosis through a caspase-3-dependent pathway and mediated cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, we observed that the serum metabolites of PR (daidzein sulfates/glucuronides) inhibited proliferation of the breast cancer cells at a 50% cell growth inhibition (GI 50) concentration of 2.35 μM. These results indicate that the daidzein constituent of PR can be metabolized to daidzein sulfates or daidzein glucuronides that exhibit anticancer activities. The protein expression levels of the active forms of caspase-9 and Bax in breast cancer cells were significantly increased by treatment with PR metabolites. These metabolites also increased the protein expression levels of p53 and p21. We therefore suggest that PR may act as a chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agent against breast cancer by reducing cell viability and inducing apoptosis.

Patulin causes DNA damage leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through modulation of Bax, p 53 and p 21/WAF1 proteins in skin of mice

Patulin (PAT), a mycotoxin found in apples, grapes, oranges, pear and peaches, is a potent genotoxic compound. WHO has highlighted the need for the study of cutaneous toxicity of PAT as manual labour is employed during pre and post harvest stages, thereby causing direct exposure to skin. In the present study cutaneous toxicity of PAT was evaluated following topical application to Swiss Albino mice. Dermal exposure of PAT, to mice for 4 h resulted in a dose (40–160 μg/animal) and time (up to 6 h) dependent enhancement of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a marker enzyme of cell proliferation. The ODC activity was found to be normal after 12 and 24 h treatment of patulin. Topical application of PAT (160 μg/100 μl acetone) for 24–72 h caused (a) DNA damage in skin cells showing significant increase (34–63%) in olive tail moment, a parameter of Comet assay (b) significant G 1 and S-phase arrest along with induction of apoptosis (2.8–10 folds) as shown by annexin V and PI staining assay through flow cytometer. Moreover PAT leads to over expression of p 21/WAF1 (3.6–3.9 fold), pro apoptotic protein Bax (1.3–2.6) and tumor suppressor wild type p 53 (2.8–3.9 fold) protein. It was also shown that PAT induced apoptosis was mediated through mitochondrial intrinsic pathway as revealed through the release of cytochrome C protein in cytosol leading to enhancement of caspase-3 activity in skin cells of mice. These results suggest that PAT has a potential to induce DNA damage leading to p 53 mediated cell cycle arrest along with intrinsic pathway mediated apoptosis that may also be correlated with enhanced polyamine production as evident by induction of ODC activity, which may have dermal toxicological implications.

Negative-feedback regulation of proneural proteins controls the timing of neural precursor division

Neurogenesis requires precise control of cell specification and division. In Drosophila, the timing of cell division of the sensory organ precursor (SOP) is under strict temporal control. But how the timing of mitotic entry is determined remains poorly understood. Here, we present evidence that the timing of the G2-M transition is determined by when proneural proteins are degraded from SOPs. This process requires the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, including the RING protein Sina and the adaptor Phyl. In phyl mutants, proneural proteins accumulate, causing delay or arrest in the G2-M transition. The G2-M defect in phyl mutants is rescued by reducing the ac and sc gene doses. Misexpression of phyl downregulates proneural protein levels in a sina-dependent manner. Phyl directly associates with proneural proteins to act as a bridge between proneural proteins and Sina. As phyl is a direct transcriptional target of Ac and Sc, our data suggest that, in addition to mediating cell cycle arrest, proneural protein initiates a negative-feedback regulation to time the mitotic entry of neural precursors.

Cell cycle regulation by the pro-apoptotic gene Scotin

Scotin is a pro-apoptotic mammalian gene, which is induced upon DNA damage or cellular stress in a p53-dependent manner. In this report, we have used Drosophila as a model system to obtain a preliminary insight into the molecular mechanism of Scotin function, which was validated using the mammalian system. Targeted expression of Scotin in developing Drosophila induced apoptosis and developmental defects in wings and eyes. Co-expression of Scotin with the anti-apoptotic protein P35, while inhibited the apoptosis in both dividing and non-dividing cells, rescued adult wing or eye phenotypes only when Scotin was expressed in non-dividing cells. This suggests that mechanisms of Scotin-induced apoptosis in dividing and non-dividing cells may vary. Suppressor-enhancer screen using cell cycle regulators suggested that Scotin may mediate cell cycle arrest at both G1/S and G2/M phases. Over-expression of Scotin in mammalian cells resulted in mitotic arrest and subsequently apoptosis. Furthermore, a larger proportion of cells over-expressing Scotin showed sequestration of Cyclin B1 in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that one of the ways by which Scotin induces apoptosis is by causing cell-cycle arrest.

Induction of p16ink4a and p19ARF by TGFβ1 contributes to growth arrest and senescence response in mouse keratinocytes

TGFbeta1 acts as a potent negative regulator of the cell cycle and tumor suppressor in part through induction of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p15(ink4b), p21, and p57. We previously showed that primary mouse epidermal keratinocytes (MEK) expressing a v-ras(Ha) oncogene undergo hyperproliferation followed by growth arrest and senescence that was dependent on TGFbeta1 signaling and associated with increased levels of p16(ink4a) and p19(ARF). Here we show that the induction of both p16(ink4a) and p19(ARF) in v-ras(Ha) expressing keratinocytes is dependent on TGFbeta1 signaling, as TGFbeta1 treatment or Smad3 overexpression induces both p16(ink4a) and p19(ARF) protein and mRNA, while Smad3 depletion or Smad7 overexpression blocks induction. Genetic ablation of the cdkn2a (ink4a/arf) locus reduced sensitivity to TGFbeta1 mediated cell cycle arrest and induction of senescence suggesting that alteration of TGFbeta1 responses may be an additional pathway impacted by the inactivation of cdkn2a locus during tumor development.

Overexpression of SnoN/SkiL, amplified at the 3q26.2 locus, in ovarian cancers: A role in ovarian pathogenesis

High-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization of 235 serous epithelial ovarian cancers demonstrated a regional increase at 3q26.2 encompassing SnoN/SkiL, a coregulator of SMAD/TGFβ signaling. SnoN RNA transcripts were elevated in ∼80% of advanced stage serous epithelial ovarian cancers. In both immortalized normal (TIOSE) and ovarian carcinoma cell lines (OVCA), SnoN RNA levels were increased by TGFβ stimulation and altered by LY294002 and JNK II inhibitor treatment suggesting that the PI3K and JNK signaling pathways may regulate TGFβ-induced increases in SnoN RNA. In TIOSE, SnoN protein levels were reduced 15 min post TGFβ-stimulation, likely by proteosome-mediated degradation. In contrast, in OVCA, SnoN levels were elevated 3 h post-stimulation potentially as a result of inhibition of the proteosome. To elucidate the role of SnoN in ovarian tumorigenesis, we explored the effects of both increasing and decreasing SnoN levels. In both TIOSE and OVCA, SnoN siRNA decreased cell growth between 20 and 50% concurrent with increased p21 levels. In TIOSE, transient expression of SnoN repressed TGFβ induction of PAI-1 promoters with little effect on the p21 promoter or resultant cell growth. In contrast to the effects of transient expression, stable expression of SnoN in TIOSE led to growth arrest through induction of senescence. Collectively, these results implicate SnoN levels in multiple roles during ovarian carcinogenesis: promoting cellular proliferation in ovarian cancer cells and as a positive mediator of cell cycle arrest and senescence in non-transformed ovarian epithelial cells.

P53‐dependent and ‐independent components of IL‐2 mediated radioprotection in IL‐2 dependent T cell lines

Cytokines are crucial growth factors for the survival, proliferation and differentiation of hematopoictic cells. Previous studies have shown that many cytokines are radioprotective, i.e. able to rescue hematopoietic cells from radiation‐induced apoptosis. The radioprotective role of IL‐2 in IL‐2 dependent T cells and its molecular mechanism has not been well defined. We hypothesize that IL‐2 protects T cells from radiation‐induced apoptosis via up‐regulating antiapoptotic molecules and enhancing DNA repairs. It is well known that upon radiation induced double strand DNA break, cells immediately activate DNA repair machinery and initiate cell cycle arrest. Using IL‐2 dependent p53‐sufficient HT‐2 T cell line and p53‐deficient D1 cell line, we show that IL‐2 protects them from radiation‐induced apoptosis through up‐regulating antiapoptotic molecules and inducing G2 cell cycle arrest via Akt pathway. Although Akt mediated cell cycle arrest may occur independent of p53, it appears to be crucial for p53‐dependent radioprotection as inhibition of Akt activity delays successful repair of damaged DNA, which results in radiation‐induced apoptosis. Therefore, both p53‐dependent and ‐independent pathways are important for IL‐2 mediated radioprotection. This study is supported by NIH grants to YC (CA112065 and P20RR021970)

Potentially functional polymorphisms of EXO1 and risk of lung cancer in a Chinese population: A case-control analysis

Exonuclease 1 (EXO1) is an important nucleases involved in mismatch repair system that contributes to maintain genomic stability, to modulate DNA recombination, and to mediate cell cycle arrest. Potentially functional polymorphisms in EXO1 may alter cancer risks by influencing the repair activity of EXO1. Therefore, we hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in EXO1 were associated with risk of lung cancer. To test this hypothesis, we genotyped five common SNPs (rs1776177A/G, rs1047840G/A (Glu589Lys), rs1776148G/A (Gly670Glu), rs9350C/T (Leu757Pro) and rs851797T/C) that tag eight SNPs located at exon regions of EXO1 by using the Illumina high-throughput genotyping platform in 500 incident lung cancer cases and 517 cancer-free controls in a Chinese population. Significant differences of allele and genotype distributions were observed in Glu589Lys (rs1047840) of EXO1 between the cases and controls (P=0.028 and 0.025 for allele and genotype distributions, respectively). Logistic regression analyses revealed that individuals carrying the variant 589Lys allele (589Glu/Lys or 589Lys/Lys) had a significantly increased risk of lung cancer [adjusted odds ratio (OR)=1.41, 95% confidential interval (CI)=1.09-1.84] compared with those who carried the wild-type homozygote (589Glu/Glu). Furthermore, we found that haplotype AAGTT was more frequent in cases than in controls (P<0.001 for both two-sided chi(2)-test and 1000 times permutation tests). These results suggest that the EXO1 Glu589Lys polymorphism and its surrounding regions might be genetic susceptibility markers for lung cancer in this study population.

Reconstitution of Mdm2-Dependent Post-Translational Modifications of p53 in Yeast

p53 mediates cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Its activity is subject to a tight regulation involving a multitude of post-translational modifications. The plethora of functional protein interactions of p53 at present precludes a clear understanding of regulatory principles in the p53 signaling network. To circumvent this complexity, we studied here the minimal requirements for functionally relevant p53 post-translational modifications by expressing human p53 together with its best characterized modifier Mdm2 in budding yeast. We find that expression of the human p53-Mdm2 module in yeast is sufficient to faithfully recapitulate key aspects of p53 regulation in higher eukaryotes, such as Mdm2-dependent targeting of p53 for degradation, sumoylation at lysine 386 and further regulation of this process by p14ARF. Interestingly, sumoylation is necessary for the recruitment of p53-Mdm2 complexes to yeast nuclear bodies morphologically akin to human PML bodies. These results suggest a novel role for Mdm2 as well as for p53 sumoylation in the recruitment of p53 to nuclear bodies. The reductionist yeast model that was established and validated in this study will now allow to incrementally study simplified parts of the intricate p53 network, thus helping elucidate the core mechanisms of p53 regulation as well as test novel strategies to counteract p53 malfunctions.

The transcription factor FOXO3a is a crucial cellular target of gefitinib (Iressa) in breast cancer cells

Gefitinib is a specific inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that causes growth delay in cancer cell lines and human tumor xenografts expressing high levels of EGFR. An understanding of the downstream cellular targets of gefitinib will allow the discovery of biomarkers for predicting outcomes and monitoring anti-EGFR therapies and provide information for key targets for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we investigated the role of FOXO3a in gefitinib action and resistance. Using two gefitinib-sensitive (i.e., BT474 and SKBR3) as well as three other resistant breast carcinoma cell lines (i.e., MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and MDA-MB-453), we showed that gefitinib targets the transcription factor FOXO3a to mediate cell cycle arrest and cell death in sensitive breast cancer cells. In the sensitive cells, gefitinib treatment causes cell cycle arrest predominantly at the G(0)-G(1) phase and apoptosis, which is associated with FOXO3a dephosphorylation at Akt sites and nuclear translocation, whereas in the resistant cells, FOXO3a stays phosphorylated and remains in the cytoplasm. The nuclear accumulation of FOXO3a in response to gefitinib was confirmed in tumor tissue sections from breast cancer patients presurgically treated with gefitinib as monotherapy. We also showed that knockdown of FOXO3a expression using small interfering RNA (siRNA) can rescue sensitive BT474 cells from gefitinib-induced cell-proliferative arrest, whereas reintroduction of active FOXO3a in resistant MDA-MB-231 cells can at least partially restore cell-proliferative arrest and sensitivity to gefitinib. These results suggest that the FOXO3a dephosphorylation and nuclear localization have a direct role in mediating the gefitinib-induced proliferative arrest and in determining sensitivity to gefitinib.

Human Papillomavirus E7 Requires the Protease Calpain to Degrade the Retinoblastoma Protein

Cervical cancers transformed by high risk human papilloma virus (HPV) express the E7 oncoprotein, which accelerates the degradation of the retinoblastoma protein (Rb). Here we show that the E7-mediated degradation of Rb requires the calcium-activated cysteine protease, calpain. E7 bound and activated mu-calpain and promoted cleavage at Rb(810), with mutation of this residue preventing E7-mediated degradation. The calpain cleavage product, Rb(1-810), was unable to mediate cell cycle arrest but retained the ability to repress E6/E7 transcription. E7 also promoted the accelerated proteasomal degradation of Rb(1-810). Calpain inhibitors reduced the viability of HPV-transformed cells and synergized with cisplatin. Calpain, thus, emerges as a central player in E7-mediated degradation of Rb and represents a potential new drug target for the treatment of HPV-associated lesions.

P15Ink4b: Dual function in myelopoiesis and inactivation in myeloid disease

p15Ink4b (p15) is a cyclin- dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) that is known for arresting the cell cycle in early G1 phase by inhibiting the activation of cyclin dependent kinases 4 and 6. Loss of p15 expression has been associated with several cancer types but its silencing is frequent in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myeloid dysplastic syndrome (MDS). Several mechanisms have been identified that are responsible for silencing the gene encoding p15 in myeloid disease, including gene hypermethylation, transcription factor deregulation and direct inhibition by translocation products. The effect of p15 loss during disease may be attributed to the dual role of this protein as a mediator of cell cycle arrest in late stage myeloid progenitors and as a regulator of differentiation in early common myeloid progenitors (CMP). Here we outline the mechanisms by which p15 is silenced and the functions of this CDKI in myelopoiesis as well as discuss the implications of these findings to myeloid disease.

Src kinase inhibitors induce apoptosis and mediate cell cycle arrest in lymphoma cells

Src kinases are involved in multiple cellular contexts such as proliferation, adhesion, tumor invasiveness, angiogenesis, cell cycle control and apoptosis. We here demonstrate that three newly developed dual selective Src/Abl kinase inhibitors (SrcK-I) (AZM559756, AZD0530 and AZD0424) are able to induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in BCR-ABL, c-KIT and platelet-derived growth factor-negative lymphoma cell lines. Treatment of DOHH-2, WSU-NHL, Raji, Karpas-299, HUT78 and Jurkat cells with SrcK-I revealed that the tested substances were effective on these parameters in the cell lines DOHH-2 and WSU-NHL, whereas the other tested cell lines remained unaffected. Phosphorylation of Lyn and in particular Lck were affected most heavily by treatment with the SrcK-I. Extrinsic as well as intrinsic apoptosis pathways were activated and elicited unique expressional patterns of apoptosis-relevant proteins such as downregulation of survivin, Bcl-XL and c-FLIP. Protein levels of c-abl were downregulated and Akt phosphorylation was decreased by treatment with SrcK-I. Basal expression levels of c-Myc were notably lower in sensitive cell lines as compared with nonsensitive cell lines, possibly providing an explanation for sensitivity versus resistance against these novel substances. This study provides the first basis for establishing novel SrcK-I as weapons in the arsenal against lymphoma cells.

Evidence that Proteasome-Dependent Degradation of the Retinoblastoma Protein in Cells Lacking A-Type Lamins Occurs Independently of Gankyrin and MDM2

BackgroundA-type lamins, predominantly lamins A and C, are nuclear intermediate filaments believed to act as scaffolds for assembly of transcription factors. Lamin A/C is necessary for the retinoblastoma protein (pRB) stabilization through unknown mechanism(s). Two oncoproteins, gankyrin and MDM2, are known to promote pRB degradation in other contexts. Consequently, we tested the hypothesis that gankyrin and/or MDM2 are required for enhanced pRB degradation in Lmna−/− fibroblasts. Principal Findings. To determine if gankyrin promotes pRB destabilization in the absence of lamin A/C, we first analyzed its protein levels in Lmna−/− fibroblasts. Both gankyrin mRNA levels and protein levels are increased in these cells, leading us to further investigate its role in pRB degradation. Consistent with prior reports, overexpression of gankyrin in Lmna +/+ cells destabilizes pRB. This decrease is functionally significant, since gankyrin overexpressing cells are resistant to p16ink4a-mediated cell cycle arrest. These findings suggest that lamin A-mediated degradation of pRB would be gankyrin-dependent. However, effective RNAi-enforced reduction of gankyrin expression in Lmna−/− cells was insufficient to restore pRB stability. To test the importance of MDM2, we disrupted the MDM2-pRB interaction by transfecting Lmna−/− cells with p14arf. p14arf expression was also insufficient to stabilize pRB or confer cell cycle arrest, suggesting that MDM2 also does not mediate pRB degradation in Lmna−/− cells.Conclusions/SignificanceOur findings suggest that pRB degradation in Lmna−/− cells occurs by gankyrin and MDM2-independent mechanisms, leading us to propose the existence of a third proteasome-dependent pathway for pRB degradation. Two findings from this study also increase the likelihood that lamin A/C functions as a tumor suppressor. First, protein levels of the oncoprotein gankyrin are elevated in Lmna−/− fibroblasts. Second, Lmna−/− cells are refractory to p14arf-mediated cell cycle arrest, as was previously shown with p16ink4a. Potential roles of lamin A/C in the suppression of tumorigenesis are discussed.

P53 regulates its own activator: transcriptional co-activator PC4, a new p53-responsive gene

The tumour suppressor protein p53 regulates the expression of several genes that mediate cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, DNA repair and other cellular responses. Recently, we have shown that human transcriptional co-activator PC4 is a unique activator of p53 function. In the present study, we report that PC4 is a p53-inducible gene. Bioinformatics analysis reveals multiple p53-binding sites in the PC4 promoter. We have found that indeed p53 binds to all the identified sites in vitro and in vivo with varying affinities. p53 acts as an activator of PC4 transcription. Both PC4 mRNA and protein levels increase in response to stimuli that result in p53 induction. Furthermore, PC4 enhances p53 recruitment to the PC4 promoter. Our results thus establish the first report of a positively regulated feedback loop to control p53 function.

Helping p53 Choose a Target Gene

The tumor suppressor p53 controls the cellular response to genotoxic stress by promoting either cell cycle arrest or apoptosis, depending on the amount of damage (see Aylon and Oren for summary of p53 functions and regulatory mechanisms). Much of the function of p53 in this cell choice of life or death is related to which genes it targets: Do those genes encode proapoptotic proteins or are encoded proteins involved in mediating cell cycle arrest? Two articles this week identify two new participants in controlling p53 target gene selection. Das et al . identified hematopoietic zinc finger (Hzf), which is itself encoded by a p53-regulated gene, as a protein that directly interacted with p53 and promoted the activation of cell cycle arrest genes, while inhibiting the expression of proapoptotic genes, in response to mild DNA damage. This function was determined using RNA interference assays and mouse embryo fibroblasts deficient in Hzf. Initially, in response to mild genotoxic stress, Hzf abundance increased; however, after prolonged exposure of cells to etopside or extended forced expression of p53, Hzf abundance decreased, which was prevented by pharmacological inhibition of the proteasome. This decrease correlated with the time in which the cells begin to undergo apoptosis; thus, Hzf appears to be one p53 target and partner that contributes to the choice of cell cycle arrest. In a related article, Tanaka et al . found that human cellular apoptosis susceptibility protein (hCAS, which is the homolog of the yeast protein CSE1) bound to a subset of p53-containing chromatin complexes, although binding of hCAS and p53 were independent of each other. When hCAS was depleted by RNA interference methods, the p53 target genes with which hCAS was normally associated showed decreased p53-dependent expression. Although hCAS-targeted genes did not fall exclusively into the cell cycle or apoptosis categories, hCAS does appear to be another mechanism by which p53 target gene selection is made. Y. Aylon, M. Oren, Living with p52, Dying of p53. Cell 130 , 597-600 (2007). [PubMed] S. Das, L. Raj, B. Zhao, Y. Kimura, A. Bernstein, S. A. Aaronson, S. W. Lee, Hzf determines cell survival upon genotoxic stress by modulating p53 transactivation. Cell 130 , 624-637 (2007). [PubMed] T. Tanaka, S. Ohkubo, I. Tatsuno, C. Prives, hCAS/CSE1L associates with chromatin and regulates expression of select p53 target genes. Cell 130 , 638-650 (2007). [PubMed]

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α- and Interleukin-1-Induced Cellular Responses: Coupling Proteomic and Genomic Information

The pro-inflammatory cytokines, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and Interleukin-1 (IL-1) mediate the innate immune response. Dysregulation of the innate immune response contributes to the pathogenesis of cancer, arthritis, and congestive heart failure. TNFalpha- and IL-1-induced changes in gene expression are mediated by similar transcription factors; however, TNFalpha and IL-1 receptor knock-out mice differ in their sensitivities to a known initiator (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) of the innate immune response. The contrasting responses to LPS indicate that TNFalpha and IL-1 regulate different processes. A large-scale proteomic analysis of TNFalpha- and IL-1-induced responses was undertaken to identify processes uniquely regulated by TNFalpha and IL-1. When combined with genomic studies, our results indicate that TNFalpha, but not IL-1, mediates cell cycle arrest.

Mice Lacking Protein Phosphatase 5 Are Defective in Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM)-mediated Cell Cycle Arrest

Protein phosphatase 5 (Ppp5), a tetratricopeptide repeat domain protein, has been implicated in multiple cellular functions, including cellular proliferation, migration, differentiation and survival, and cell cycle checkpoint regulation via the ataxia telangiectasia mutated/ATM and Rad3-related (ATM/ATR) signal pathway. However, the physiological functions of Ppp5 have not been reported. To confirm the role of Ppp5 in cell cycle checkpoint regulation, we generated Ppp5-deficient mice and isolated mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells from Ppp5-deficient and littermate control embryos. Although Ppp5-deficient mice can survive through embryonic development and postnatal life and MEF cells from the Ppp5-deficient mice maintain normal replication checkpoint induced by hydroxyurea, Ppp5-deficient MEF cells display a significant defect in G(2)/M DNA damage checkpoint in response to ionizing radiation (IR). To determine whether this defect in IR-induced G(2)/M checkpoint is due to altered ATM-mediated signaling, we measured ATM kinase activity and ATM-mediated downstream events. Our data demonstrated that IR-induced ATM kinase activity is attenuated in Ppp5-deficient MEFs. Phosphorylation levels of two known ATM substrates, Rad17 and Chk2, were significantly reduced in Ppp5-deficient MEFs in response to IR. Furthermore, DNA damage-induced Rad17 nuclear foci were dramatically reduced in Ppp5-deficient MEFs. These results demonstrate a direct regulatory linkage between Ppp5 and activation of the ATM-mediated G(2)/M DNA damage checkpoint pathway in vivo.

Guanine nucleotide depletion inhibits pre-ribosomal RNA synthesis and causes nucleolar disruption

Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a pivotal enzyme in the de novo pathway of guanine nucleotide biosynthesis. Inhibitors of this enzyme decrease intracellular guanine nucleotide levels by 50–80% and have potential as anti-neoplastic agents. Both mycophenolic acid (MPA) and AVN-944 are highly specific inhibitors of IMPDH that cause cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in lymphocytes and leukemic cell lines. We have examined the mechanisms by which these two agents cause cytotoxicity. Both MPA and AVN-944 inhibit the growth of K562 cells, and induce apoptosis in Raji B and CCRF-CEM T cells. Both compounds strikingly inhibit RNA synthesis within 2 h of exposure. Depletion of guanine nucleotides by MPA and AVN-944 also causes an early and near-complete reduction in levels of the 45S precursor rRNA synthesis and the concomitant translocation of nucleolar proteins including nucleolin, nucleophosmin, and nucleostemin from the nucleolus to the nucleoplasm. This efflux correlates temporally with the sustained induction of p53 in cell lines with wild-type p53. We conclude that inhibition of IMPDH causes a primary reduction in rRNA synthesis and secondary nucleolar disruption and efflux of nucleolar proteins that most likely mediate cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. The ability of AVN-944 to induce apoptosis in a number of leukemic cell lines supports its potential utility in the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

Thiazolidinediones and the Risk of Lung, Prostate, and Colon Cancer in Patients With Diabetes

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) mediates cell cycle arrest and adipocyte differentiation; has tumor suppressor activity in liposarcoma, lung, and prostate cancers; and suppresses colonic polyp formation in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)min/+ mice. To assess the influence of thiazolidinediones (TZDs), which are PPAR ligands used to treat diabetes mellitus, a retrospective analysis of a database from 10 Veteran Affairs medical centers was conducted. Data on male patients 40 years and older diagnosed to have diabetes mellitus between 1997 and 2003 were obtained from the Veterans Integrated Services Network 16 (VISN 16) data warehouse. Subsequent diagnoses of colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer and use of TZD, other antidiabetic agents, and insulin were identified. Cox regression with time-dependent covariates was used to estimate the association between TZD use and cancer risk. Relative risks were adjusted for confounders (age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, use of insulin, and other oral antidiabetic agents). Of 87,678 individuals, 1,137 had colorectal cancer, 3,246 had prostate cancer, and 1,371 had lung cancer. We observed a 33% reduction in lung cancer risk among TZD users compared with nonusers after adjusting for confounder interactions (relative risk, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.87). The risk reduction for colorectal and prostate cancers did not reach statistical significance. TZD use was associated with reduced risk of lung cancer. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings.